After India’s 336-run victory over England at Edgbaston last week, which levelled the series at 1-1, former fast bowler James Anderson said that for England to get a foothold in the series and win the trophy named after him, Jofra Archer must play the Lord’s Test this week.
It has been more than four years since Archer played Test cricket but after making his red-ball comeback in the County Championship for Sussex, he was called up to the travelling squad and trained with the team in Birmingham.
After the opening two matches of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy were played on flat tracks where a plethora of runs were scored by batters of both teams, conditions at the famous Lord’s Cricket Ground may be a bit bowler-friendly, and Anderson believes Archer will provide his former side the X-factor they are lacking.
“You could keep trying to build his overs up and play him later in the series, but it could be too late by then,” Anderson was quoted as saying on the BBC’s Tailenders Podcast. “I think he will play.”
“He’s played one game for Sussex, he was around the team at Edgbaston and bowled a bit. I just feel like you’ve got to play him. It’s too crucial a game not to,” the England great added.
England coach Brendon McCullum had hinted that Archer will play some part in the rest of the series after the loss at Edgbaston. “Jofra is looking fit, he’s looking strong, he’s looking ready to go, and he’ll come into calculations,” he was quoted as saying by ICC. “It’s hugely exciting. He’s buzzing as well. He’s obviously been through his injuries and his time out of Test cricket.”
“We all know what he’s capable of achieving in Test cricket and we hope that when the opportunity does arrive for him, he’s able to recapture and also improve on what he’s been able to do already in that form of the game,” McCullum added.
